Job 23:10

But He knows the way I take; {When} He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Trials can be some of the most frustrating, annoying, and faith-breaking times of our lives. We feel distant from God, pressured to let go of our striving for holiness or maybe even to just give up our faith and walk away. However, like Job, we are not put into trials to destroy us, but to grow us. God's desire is to make us into a mirror image of Jesus and to do that He has to allow trials in our lives. The Bible describes this process in Zechariah 13:9 as a metalsmith purifying his metals. Metal smiths heat their metal to the melting point, then scrape off the impurities until they can see themselves in the metal's surface. Sometimes he would do this repeatedly and this would increase the value of the metal even more. This is what God is seeking to do with us when we go through trials; He is seeking to remove the impurities in our hearts and lives through our trials. As we let those go, we are made more and more in His image and become more and more valuable to His work in this world. Don't fight against God in your times of trials, but seek what He desires to remove and let Him take it. Then, you will shine with His purity and be useful for the work of the Lord!